Memorial Day Randomness

If a "normal" picture is worth a thousand words, how many are these worth?




I took these two years ago at Rolling Thunder, an annual event during which more than 100,000 bikers thunder through Washington DC in honor of those who gave their lives in the service of our country. 

The top picture might be obvious: one of the American flags that circle the Washington Monument.  The middle picture is of two bikers reading names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall, possibly spotting the name of someone they served with during that war; I am proud of that picture but it doesn't even come close to capturing the feeling you have when you are actually standing there before the names of more than 58,000 who died in that "conflict".  The bottom picture is just a tiny glimpse of the parade, as the bikes thunder down Constitution Avenue on the National Mall. 

Thunder is a very appropriate word to describe the event, an auditory representation of both the roar of the motorcycles and the sounds of battle.  I am not much of a flag-waiver, wasn't much of a soldier and don't especially care for motorcycles, but I am damn proud to be an American, grieve for those who died and salute those who served.  I met a guy at a party yesterday who will be riding in Rolling Thunder for the 6th time this weekend.  He suggested that I ride some day.  I might reach out to him next year to see if he needs a passenger.

God bless America.

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